Busta Rhymes Defends Lil Wayne’s “I Don’t Like New York” Comment

Lil Wayne is persona non grata in some corners of the New York after bluntly proclaiming his distaste for the city in a recent interview. But there’s one famous NYC resident and rapper who is coming to the defense of Tunechi, Cash Money comrade Busta Rhymes.

In a recent interview with Angie Martinez on Hot 97, Busta put in his two cents on the controversy, which ignited after Wayne declared: “Flat out: I don’t like New York.”

“Everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” Busta said. “If you haven’t gone through, in your hometown or any other city, what you’ve gone through in New York, and you’re not from New York, I can completely understand why he feels that way.”

Busta said that given New York’s law enforcement history and the way Lil Wayne’s 2007 gun case was handled, he can see why his labelmate would still feel aggrieved by the City That Never Sleeps.

“You did a year in Riker’s Island for something that you probably wasn’t guilty of, but because of who you were, you had to eat that,” Busta said, articulating the case from Weezy’s perspective.

The “Respect My Conglomerate” rapper shared a story of how a bad experience in El Paso, where he and members of his entourage were arrested after a show and forced to pay $56,000 in bail, caused him to feel similar negative emotions toward that particular city.

Asked if he thinks Wayne should apologize for his comments, as has been demanded of him by a New York State Senator, Busta said he didn’t think that was necessary.